Is It Time to Repeal FATCA? New at Reason

I’ve previously argued that the Trump administration should stop funding the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development because of its advocacy of higher taxes and tax harmonization. At the time, I was told that my position could be perceived as hypocritical because our government is responsible for the adoption and enforcement of the hideous Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. Let me address this omission.

FATCA, which was passed in 2010 by a Democratic Congress and enacted by President Barack Obama, requires law-abiding Americans with legitimate bank accounts outside the country and foreigners working in the United States to turn over information about their overseas holdings of more than $50,000.

Under new treaties with the United States, some 100,000 foreign financial institutions in more than 100 countries must report to the Treasury on an account of any so-called “U.S. person”—a U.S. citizen or someone with a green card or U.S. work permit—with $50,000 or more in it, or they risk being hit with a 30 percent withholding tax on their U.S. earnings, writes Veronique de Rugy.

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